Raul Rosas Jr. picked up a fourth straight win with a unanimous resolution over Vince Morales at UFC Mexico, and it seems a late comeback try didn’t endanger him as a lot as his personal conditioning.
Because the third spherical began with Rosas clearly up on the scorecards, Morales made a last-ditch effort to get the win after he latched onto a D’Arce choke. There have been a couple of moments the place Rosas was grimacing from the submission, however regardless of a number of changes, Morales simply couldn’t sink within the maintain to finish the struggle.
Trying again now, the 20-year-old prospect says he was by no means near tapping out or getting choked out as a result of he knew precisely what to anticipate from Morales.
“To be trustworthy, I wasn’t going to faucet regardless,” Rosas instructed MMA Combating. “[In] any choke, I might have been there for 5 full minutes, no downside. With me, when you’re in a position to get a choke on me meaning your choke is ideal. As a result of within the health club, in every single place, I even let folks seize a maintain of my again and get a full choke, and I’m in a position to simply be there perpetually and their arms get gassed out, particularly for this camp I knew Vince was actually good on the D’Arce. I felt it in coaching earlier than as a result of I’ve educated with him like a yr and a half in the past. I by no means faucet.
“So this camp, I had my brother and different folks I didn’t know begin with a deep, deep actually, D’Arce and I might say OK go they usually have been attempting to choke me and I might escape. I felt actually comfy. His choke I might say the deepest, the one which went the deepest was the final one, nevertheless it was 55 p.c out of one hundred pc deep. It was somewhat bit uncomfortable however not sufficient to move out or choke me out.”
Rosas admits he was truly somewhat shocked Morales even went for the D’Arce choke after he couldn’t land it after they have been coaching collectively within the health club.
“I imply I believed he would know as a result of he acquired it in coaching earlier than,” Rosas mentioned. “I’ve let him get a deep D’Arce on me earlier than once I educated with him a yr and a half in the past. He squeezed the toughest in that coaching session. Like I bear in mind he squeezed so arduous for like a minute and he wasn’t in a position to faucet me.
“I believed going into the struggle he would know irrespective of how deep it acquired, he wasn’t going to faucet me. However now that I give it some thought, why not give it a strive, ? Clearly he gave it a strive.”
Whereas Rosas says the submission by no means got here near ending him, the altitude in Mexico Metropolis was a very completely different story.
Fighters have notoriously struggled to take care of the skinny air every time competing within the area’s excessive altitude and as a lot as Rosas tried to arrange for what it will really feel like, he has by no means handled a stage of exhaustion he skilled did throughout that three-round battle.
The truth is, Rosas was compelled to change his technique, as a result of when the primary spherical ended, he thought he was executed.
“When the primary spherical ended, I used to be useless,” Rosas mentioned. “Zero in me. My arms have been useless. That’s why I didn’t strike no extra. My arms have been useless. They didn’t reply no extra. [Usually when I go to] the nook and sat there virtually chilling and this time once I went to the nook, the very first thing I do I inform them water, give me water as a result of I used to be so dry. Then I arise as a result of spherical two is about to begin and I have a look at him and he’s leaping [around], all contemporary, and I used to be like f*ck. As a result of I used to be useless. I used to be like f*ck.
“Then I acquired a flashback from the Christian Rodriguez struggle and I used to be like no, I can’t let this occur once more. I can’t lose. I used to be like it doesn’t matter what, I don’t know what I’m going to do, I don’t know the way I’m going to do it, however I’m going to win tonight. Right now I’m going to win. I don’t care. I don’t know the way I’m going to do it, however I’m going to f*cking push by way of, and at the moment I’m going to win. After that, I used to be type of blacked out and I simply saved on preventing and I used to be in a position to simply win the struggle.”
Rosas suffered his solely profession loss when he dropped a call to Rodriguez again in 2023 after he fully ran out of gasoline, which allowed his opponent to take over.
He refused to let the identical factor occur once more so Rosas successfully willed himself to victory though his physique was fully exhausted.
“I used to be useless, particularly for the third,” Rosas mentioned. “It went from zero to unfavorable. On the third, it’s been essentially the most tiredness I’ve ever felt in a struggle. That’s why I’m happy with myself as a result of I used to be in a position to dig deep.
“Even the following day I awoke, it took me the entire day, I used to be nonetheless out of breath. Like if I’ve simply acquired executed from a f*cking 10-mile run. I believe from how I pushed my physique that struggle, that night time I pushed it a lot, it took me one other complete day to nonetheless get my air again. I used to be nonetheless out of breath.”
Contemplating how badly issues might have ended that night time, Rosas is happy with himself for locating a technique to battle by way of adversity and get the job executed. It wasn’t the very best efficiency of his profession by any means however Rosas had a lot go flawed but he nonetheless ended up with one other win on his resume.
“Not completely however good in a manner,” Rosas mentioned. “I used to be in a position to get this expertise below my belt, preventing at altitude, studying find out how to handle myself once I was so drained and nonetheless holding myself within the struggle. However clearly, I at all times need a end however this simply helps me lots as a result of earlier than I might end everyone.
“In some unspecified time in the future, I mentioned I’ve to learn to handle every time I’m not in a position to end everyone. Handle three rounds. Easy methods to go three rounds. Easy methods to win a struggle, not simply end a struggle and now for my subsequent struggle I do know I’ve to place it collectively to know when to win the struggle and when to go for the kill.”
So far as returning to Mexico Metropolis for one more struggle, Rosas admits he must get higher acclimated to the altitude, however he’s joyful he acquired that first struggle out of the best way so at the least he is aware of what to anticipate if there’s a subsequent time.
“I’m at all times up for the problem,” Rosas mentioned. “Truthfully, if the struggle is smart, like if it was a giant struggle, a giant alternative, yeah.
“The one motive why I doubt typically I’m going to struggle in Mexico Metropolis just isn’t due to the altitude nevertheless it’s as a result of lots of my group can’t make it, coaching companions, coaches, so it’s a smaller camp identical to three folks with me and that’s if they’ll make the journey. That makes it arduous. So far as the altitude and every part, I wish to do it once more. Now that I’ve that have below my belt, I believe it will likely be simpler.”
